WA Gold has released impressive numbers for its 100 per cent owned Abercromby gold project near Wiluna in Western Australia's north-eastern goldfields. A new scoping study indicates a low-capex, staged start-up option that could deliver rapid payback through nearby toll treatment.
Stage 1 Mine Plan Overview
The preferred Stage 1 mine plan combines a small open pit with a subsequent underground operation, targeting 114,494 ounces of gold over approximately 4.5 years. An estimated 90 per cent of this is classified as indicated under the JORC Code. Abercromby already hosts a JORC-compliant mineral resource of 11.12 million tonnes at 1.45 grams per tonne gold for 518,000 ounces. WA Gold notes that the proposed Stage 1 mine inventory would only exploit about 20 per cent of that total.
Production and Financial Projections
Using a base-case scenario, the open-pit portion is expected to produce 24,466 ounces, while the underground component will generate 90,028 ounces of gold, with metallurgical recoveries of 94 per cent achieved in testwork. A gold price of A$6,000 per ounce has been assumed, which is a 10 per cent discount on the prevailing spot price of around A$6,600. The study forecasts a pre-tax free cash flow of A$270 million and a pre-tax net present value (NPV), discounted at 7 per cent, of approximately A$229 million. This is based on a modest pre-production capital expenditure of A$8 million and a 1.5-year payback period. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) are estimated at A$4,204 per ounce for the pit and A$2,938 per ounce for underground ore, reflecting the higher grades underground.
Management Commentary
WA Gold chief executive officer Ben Pollard said: "These scoping results highlight the value and viability of Abercromby as a new mine. Our approach to include largely Indicated resources in the scoping work has delivered a very rigorous result and, together with buoyant gold prices, confirms a compelling opportunity."
Toll Treatment Strategy
Rather than building a plant, the reviewed concept assumes trucking ore to an existing carbon-in-leach (CIL) facility within 70 kilometres of Abercromby, keeping upfront costs low and minimising risk. WA Gold is in toll treatment discussions with Wiluna Mining's Matilda CIL plant, located 20 kilometres from Abercromby, and sees third-party processing as the quickest route to gold sales.
Future Exploration and Drilling
The company plans to continue drilling to increase confidence and convert inferred mineralisation into indicated resources or better, while also pursuing extensions of known gold zones. The Capital deposit remains open along strike and to depth. Recent drilling at Abercromby has been intense, with a 10,000-metre resource development program running 24/7, of which 1,100 metres have been completed. This campaign aims to chase extensions and continuity of higher-grade lodes, with results informing the next round of mine planning.
Company Name Change
At a general meeting on April 15, shareholders voted to change the company's name from BMG Resources Limited to WA Gold Limited, with the proposed new ASX ticker code WAU. With a new name reflecting its focus, follow-up studies and toll treatment talks in progress, Abercromby is shaping up as a promising venture that could quickly snowball into something much bigger.
